Softy
by Fallen Ark Angel
Summary: Who knew that all it would take for Laxus to find a new side of himself was a tiny white haired baby with big blue eyes? - One-shot, set after Last Month.


Softy

Laxus was in love. There was just no denying it. Couldn't even fight it. Not that he wanted to.

"There you go. You all ready for your bath?"

He had to be. There was no way he wasn't in love. Because it was the only explanation for why, at that very moment, Laxus was happily getting his little nine month old ready for her bath.

Lana was kept kicking her feet at him though, giggling right back at the smile he was sporting. His little baby was just so great. Even when she was stinky or smelly or whiny, he was just so happy to have her.

Not that he'd been exactly excited to have her in the first place though. Mirajane's idea. And the demon always got what she wanted. He'd, actually, wanted a boy, when he finally got her pregnant, but that fell through.

He was so glad that it had though. A few months out and he couldn't imagine trading in his baby for nothing. Since his wife, Mira, had started working up at the guild again about three months ago, he'd been the one that got stuck being at home more, taking a break from his frequent jobs so that someone could be home with the baby. He thought he'd hate it.

As it was turning out though, jobs sucked. The baby rocked though. They did all sorts of things together. After all, they had the same favorite activities. Sleeping. Drinking (she liked her bottle, but he much preferred his with something other than milk). More sleeping. Working out (or watching him work out, in her case). And eating. She was getting so big, she could even eat stuff other than just formula.

Yeah. They were pretty great together.

"We gotta get little water on your hair, baby," he whispered to Lana, as if his words would make her stop disliking the feeling of it. "It's okay. Silly."

He pressed a few kisses to her head, just to calm her some. Lana really liked him. He was sure. Since she'd been born he'd always had a pretty good relationship with his baby, but it'd only blossomed since he'd taken all that time off. If he was having fun with her, then she was having a blast with him.

Laxus always thought that their kids would like Mira better. She was, after all, the more outwardly nurturing and caring. Laxus was usually a cold and brooding type of man. He'd always prided himself on it. Sure, he cared about things. Like Gramps. Or the demon. And, of course, the Thunder Legion. He just didn't do it so externally.

He couldn't help it with his baby though. She just made him so happy. Everything was fresh for her. She would giggle when their puppies gave her kisses or when Mirajane got home from work. She liked trying new foods though sometimes they made her spit and complain because the taste wasn't up to her standards. One of her favorite places was on his chest as they laid on the couch, rather impatient for Mira to get home and make them dinner.

Lana was everything he'd always needed, but never realized.

"And we gotta wash your little feet," he reminded as he gently tickled her right one, distracting the baby from her hatred of washing her hair. "Lana."

Sure, sometimes Laxus got bored of having to stay with the baby all the time. Jobs were great. He'd always loved the adventure of it all. Being able to take on the biggest and baddest jobs with ease, making the others feel inferior. And he knew he'd have to go back to them soon, letting Lana's aunts and uncles (Mira's siblings and the Thunder Legion) baby-sit her more often. He'd probably even welcome it when it started. But until then, well, he'd just be soaking up all the time he had with his baby.

"Your feet were stinky," he told the baby who just kicked at him in response. "Little baby. After your bath, we're gonna go read a story, huh? And then bedtime. You ready for bedtime?"

No. But if that was her only option…

Mmmm. Laxus still had to get the dogs fed, which he was reminded of as there was the sound of whining on the other side of the bathroom door as well as some scratching. Mirajane's damn pooches were horrible. Truly horrible. The one, Tenjin, had a shedding problem and the golden colored one, Raijin, had a biting problem. Not with the baby or with the demon. Not even with guests. Just Laxus. His daddy, according to Mira. Love bites is what Mira called them, but Laxus mostly just used them as a chance to banish the dogs outside (who still had yet to grasp the concept of the doggy door, which would easily let them back into the house).

He hated the dogs. Really, he did. But Mirajane loved them. And the baby was beginning to also. Mira just told Laxus that he was a sourpuss and a spoilsport. That was why he didn't like the dogs. They were too much fun.

Not that Laxus agreed with that. Because to him, there was nothing more fun than his little baby and he loved her unconditionally. She wasn't goin' nowhere. Even if she chewed up his favorite shirts constantly (Raijin) or stole food from the plate that he was _still eating from_ (Tenjin), he wouldn't mind. He'd be a tad bit concerned about the first one, but they'd work through it. She was his little baby, after all. Not some mangy mutt that only served to ruin his alone time with the demon (although the baby had a hand in that at times too, he forgave her).

"Hold on," Laxus growled over his shoulder, at the closed door. "You impatient mutts! I'm busy!"

The baby just giggled though, reaching out for him. And, always one to please (her anyhow), Laxus leaned down some to nuzzle his forehead against hers, the baby patting his head while she was at it. She even babbled something back to him that Laxus was pretty sure meant he was the greatest dad/slayer/mage/person to ever live and that she loved him more than she loved anyone else. And even if it didn't, that was fine. Her body language said it all.

When the bath was finished, Laxus took some time drying the baby off. She really liked that portion of the bath (mainly because it meant it was over). He gave her lots of kisses too, to keep her happy. A few times though, Lana couldn't help, but to let out those cute little yawns that she had. Like it or not, she was sleepy.

"It's not time to eat yet, brats," Laxus grumbled to the dogs when he opened the bathroom door, his then clean baby snuggled up in his arms. "So stop asking! You know you don't eat until she's in bed."

At least when Mira worked the night shift they didn't. If she had been off for dinner, they'd have been fed when everyone else was because, well, they were part of the family too. Bleh. Sometimes Mirajane got on his nerves.

He shut the dogs outside the baby's nursery when he got to it, so that he and Lana could be alone. They always got her all worked up and excited. It was not the time for that. Not at all.

Going over to the rocker in her room, he sighed as he sat down, his baby sitting up so good in his lap. Why, she deserved a kiss, she was being so good.

So she got one.

"You ready for your story, Lana? Huh?"

Mirajane had a whole bunch of picture books for the baby that, when she put her to bed, she would read from. Not Laxus though. No way. He didn't need someone else's words to put his baby to sleep! Not when he had his own. Err, well, not put to sleep. He wasn't boring her or anything. Just entertain her as she peacefully drifted off in his arms.

After all, the man had traveled all of Earthland. He was the greatest mage to ever live. Though he had to dumb down and censor some of his exploits as there was a time that Laxus wasn't the humble, fatherly, family guy he was then that he never wanted her to find out about (from women to booze to just being a flat out ass, Laxus had lived the life), he still kept the juicy, meaty bits of information that just made the story come to life. He knew that even though Lana didn't have the best hold on the English language, he was pretty sure that somewhere in her mind she was getting what he was telling her. They were just that in sync.

That night, Laxus told her all about one of his S-Class jobs that he'd taken involving a monster and the Thunder God Tribe and just his all around greatness, leaving out the fact that that was before he got with her mother and, well, a few of the women in the village were a tad more grateful than she'd ever find out about (much to the displeasure of Freed). Hehe.

"I love you," he whispered when he noted that the baby was nodding off. "Even if you are kinda rude, falling asleep at the climax of the story…but we can finish it later. You already know how it ends. I win. Of course. I'm amazing. Just like you."

She got a few more kisses though the baby whined about them because he was disturbing her. Not that Laxus minded. He would complain when the demon showered him with her love too. Lana was just so much like him. Even with her deep blue eyes and shocking white hair, he and her were practically the same. She was gonna be just like him.

No way she wouldn't be.

"Goodnight, baby." He got her all settled in her crib then, being far more gentle with her than he was with anything else in his life. "See you in the morning, huh? Make it that long. Please. Me and the demon, we just need a little alone time, eh? Then in the morning, me and you'll go to the park. You like the park? With your little stroller? Huh?"

He didn't like the stroller. Not at first. At the risk of sounding like Elfman, it just wasn't manly. Or cool. At least at first. Eventually though, he got used to pushing her around in it. At least it gave them a chance to get out of the house, anyways, and for the baby to see new things. He didn't want to keep her all cooped up in the house and have her turn out weird or something.

Laxus watched the baby for a bit, just to make sure she was fine. Sometimes she had trouble getting all settled down. That night though she didn't seem to need much help and, after pressing a few soft kisses to her head and stroking back her white locks, he headed out, leaving her to her slumber.

"Alright, you stupid dogs," Laxus grumbled softly when he was met outside the door by what Mira considered Lana's big brothers. "Let's go get you fed, huh? And I need a snack anyways."

Tenjin and Raijin were more than thrilled by dinner time, as they usually were. They were ravenous all day every day, regardless of how much they ate. Mirajane said they were like their daddy in that way.

Bleh. Laxus was only one person's daddy and that was all.

Him and the dogs had a few hours to kill until Mira got home though and Laxus, shockingly, felt a tad lonely. Lisanna had moved out recently, making the already huge house feel even bigger. He would never admit it, but he liked having her constantly around, bothering him and stuff. Not to mention, she was living with Bickslow then, in a tiny apartment, and he just worried was all. The seith wasn't the most stable person in the world.

He worried sometimes that that was how he'd feel when Lana finally left him. She would, eventually. But then he felt like a woman for thinking that way and, of course, that was years off anyhow. He still had a long time with her. He still had forever.

He decided to focus on that.

To kill some time as he waited for his demon, Laxus worked out some. Recently he'd turned one of the guest rooms downstairs into a weight room. He'd thought about using Lisanna's old bedroom, so he could hear the baby when she was in her nursery, but with his dragon hearing, he could hear her from any part of the house, upstairs or down. She was safe with him. Always.

The hours without his baby were so boring. It was hard to stay focused anymore without having her around to impress. Sigh. Too bad she was so little and needed all that rest.

When Mira got home, she found him resting on the couch, seemingly asleep, both of the dogs passed out on the floor beneath him. With a smile, she went to go wake him.

"Dragon," she whispered as he opened his eyes sleepily. "I brought you home some dinner. Did you already eat?"

Yes. Multiple time.

"No," he mumbled as he sat up some. "What did you bring me?"

"Come in to the kitchen."

They shared the plate in there, Mira taking her usual post in his lap, talking more than actually eating as Laxus just tried to stay awake. He was kinda sleepy.

"Dragon," she complained when they finished the food and he took to just snuggling her up close, resting his head against her shoulder. "Are falling asleep? I just got home! Let's do something together."

"'morrow," he mumbled tiredly. "Demon."

"Laxus-"

"Played with the baby all day." He pressed a kiss to her neck when he lifted his head. "Gonna go to bed now."

"Oh, Laxus," she complained as he gently pushed her out of his lap before getting to his feet. "Are you serious?"

Nodding slightly, he held out a hand to her. "Come with me? Demon?"

"Fine," she complained, though she didn't take his hand. "Let me clean up some, huh? I'll meet you up there."

He went and peeked in on the baby one more time, just in case she was up, but she was still snoozing. Good. Maybe she'd last the whole night.

For some reason, Mirajane's stupid pooches followed him into the bedroom, but he was too tired to shoo them away. And Raijin and Tenjin, those annoying brats, jumped right up on the bed to find their own places to slumber. He resisted to urge to push them off.

When Mirajane joined him later after checking on Lana for herself, she found her dragon snoring, laid out flat on the bed, clearly down for the night. She only giggled, getting into bed to give her sleeping dogs a few pets and smooches before moving to press a big kiss to her husband's head, smiling over at him when she settled against her own pillows.

He was all tuckered out after his day with his baby. It was so cute to see too. Her dragon.

"You big softy," she sighed as she shut her eyes and drifted off as well. "I love you."

* * *

 **I usually write Laxus as a more apathetic (though caring) father, so I figured in at least one of the universes he could be a tad more loving (if not a lot). I like him the other way better, but this is cute too.**


End file.
